DOCSLIB.ORG

Liberalism According to Štefan Launer Or on an Ethno-Eman- Cipation Theory

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Liberalism According to Štefan Launer or on an Ethno-Eman- cipation Theory Marcela Gbúrová1 Department of Political Science, UPJŠ Faculty of Arts, Slovak Republic Liberalism According to Štefan Launer, or on an Ethno-Emancipation Theory. (This paper has been prepared under the VEGA project No. 1/1116/12). Liberally-oriented Štefan Launer intervened in the complicated Slovak national- identification process of the 1840s, who defined himself in relation to the Štúr´s group by his radical rejection of their language reform. He considered that reform a gross distortion of the State (Historic-Hungarian) and national (Czechoslovak) integration. Launer made use of the difficult situation of looking for the most suitable solution of language issues of Slovaks in Historic Hungary to expose his own expertise, his intellectual gifts, and his conflicting nature. He developed his own ethno-emancipation theory, through which he not only wanted to attract the representatives of the Lutheran Church in Historic Hungary, but mainly the historic Hungarian political suzerain. The essence of his concept was that he defined the streamlining of cultural and political modernity in Europe from its western part to its eastern part, while having ”entrusted” the global history-forming initiative to four of the Western European nations (the Italian, the French, the English, and the German ones), which by virtue of their scholarship and spirit were to revive the Slavic world. Through the above concept, he intended to contribute to resolving the ethno-cultural processes ongoing within the context of modernizing multilingual Historic Hungary. Key words: liberalism, ethno-emancipation theory, Štefan Launer, Slavs (Slavonery), Kossuthan platform of a single Historic-Hungarian nation and the single Historic-Hungarian language. Liberalizmus v podaní Štefana Launera, alebo o jednej etnicko-emancipačnej teórii. (Táto štúdia je výsledkom riešenia projektu VEGA č. 1/1116/12). Do komplikovaného slovenského národno-identifikačného procesu zasiahol v 40. rokoch 19. storočia aj liberálne orientovaný Štefan Launer, ktorý sa vymedzil vo vzťahu k štúrovcom radikálnym odmietnutím ich jazykovej reformy. Uvedenú reformu považoval za hrubé narušenie štátnej (uhorskej) a národnej (československej) integrácie. Launer využil komplikovanú situáciu hľadania najvhodnejšieho riešenia jazykovej otázky Slovákov v Uhorsku na to, aby zviditeľnil svoju učenosť, svoje intelektuálne danosti i svoju konfliktnú povahu. Vypracoval vlastnú etnicko-emancipačnú teóriu, ktorou chcel zaujať nielen predstaviteľov evanjelickej cirkvi v Uhorsku, ale najmä uhorskú politickú vrchnosť. Podstata jeho koncepcie spočívala v tom, že nastavil smerovanie kultúrno- politickej modernity v Európe Launer od jej západnej časti na jej východnú časť, pričom svetodejinnú iniciatívu „zveril“ štyrom západoeurópskym národom (Talianom, Francúzom, Angličanom, Nemcom), ktoré svojou vzdelanosťou 1 Address: Prof. PhDr. Marcela Gbúrová, CSc., Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts UPJŠ in Košice, Petzvalova 4, 040 01 Košice, Slovak Republic. E-mail: [email protected] Slovak Journal of Political Sciences, Volume 14, 2014, No. 2 121 DOI: 10.2478/sjps-2014-0006 a duchom majú obrodiť slovanský svet. Touto koncepciou chcel prispieť k riešeniu etnicko-kultúrneho procesu prebiehajúceho v rámci modernizácie mnohorečového Uhorska. Kľúčové slová: liberalizmus, etnicko-emancipačná teória, Štefan Launer, slovanstvo, kossuthovskej platforme jednotného uhorského národa a jednotnej uhorskej reči As early as during his study at Lyceums (in Banská Štiavnica and Bratislava) and university studies (Halle), Štefan Launer (1821 – 1851), a native of Krupina, revealed a lot not only as to his philosophical model figures (Hegel, Luther), but also his nature, which predestined him for the role of a future uncompromising opponent of the ethno-political agenda of the Štúran nation- forming elite of the 1840s. Several testimonies of his schoolmates show2 that the young student Launer had something of a Napoleonic complex: short stature, vigorous, hardy, boastful, ambitious, obstinate, argumentative, bossy, choleric, ”eternal dissenter“, intrinsically structured for playing the role of leader of a minority radical opinion stream. In the year 1842, when two rival wings were created among the students at the Lyceum of Bratislava, the majority Slovak one and the minority anti-Štúran one, Launer gave pass to his leadership trait and programmatically sided with the opposition against Štúr3. While in Halle, he went into quarrels with almost all the Slovak students there; he only tolerated those who were of undecided opinion, mentally immature, in whom he felt that they needed strong leadership superimposed by a protective hand. In that German environment, he managed to establish alliance with Andrej Lanšťják (1821 – 1908), who took sides in his great anti-Štúran mission at the end of the 1840s. The study in Halle meant for Launer an opportunity to deepen his understanding of Hegel's philosophy of modern Idealism, which enjoyed considerable attention among Slavic students. From Kalinčiak´s memories of Sládkovič4 we learn that Launer in Halle intensively studied ”Hegelianism” and was prepared to professionally discuss this issue only with those who underwent an in-depth study of Hegel's dialectics. After returning from Halle in the autumn of 1847, he became professor at his former school – the Lyceum in Banská Štiavnica. In that very year he launched 2 See e.g. Rozpomienky na Ondreja Sládkoviča od Janka Kalinčiaka (Sokol I, 1862, pp. 442-445), Grossmann, Ľ.: Nákres života Andreja Braxatoris-Sládkoviča (Orol V, 1874). 3 Cf. Kleinschnitzová, F.: Sládkovič a jeho doba. Praha 1928, p. 74. 4 “Launer had a quarrel with me within a few days of his arrival saying how dare I (Sládkovič, M.G.) argue with him about Hegelianism when I have not even for a week been breathing in Halle, but that he has been dealing with it for the whole year “. Quoted under Klenschnitzová, F.: Ibid., p. 291. Slovak Journal of Political Sciences, Volume 14, 2014, No. 2 122 the implementation of his ideas on the ethno-emancipation modernism in Central Europe, particularly in Historic Hungary and the Slavic world. Launer had systematically been developing the ideas described while still having been staying in the German environment. He arrived in Slovakia with a comprehensive concept which he implemented in three stages. In the first stage, he constructed the philosophical foundations of his vision of the ethno- emancipation modernism, in the second stage he created on those foundations his own variant of the ethno- emancipation theory, and in the third stage he attempted to try out the implementation possibilities for his theory. The accurate understanding of that Launer´s ethno-emancipation initiative of the 1840s may be found in his works published between the years 1847 and 1949: Slovo k národu svému (A Word to My Nation, Banská Štiavnica, 1947), Povaha Slovanstva (The Nature of Slavonry, Leipzig, 1847), Všelicos pro obveselení mysli (All Sorts of Things to Amuse the Mind, Banská Štiavnica, 1848), A Štúr féle tótság veszedelmes iránya (Buda, 1848), Našim milým Slovákům (To Our Beloved Slovaks, Banská Štiavnica, 1848), Vysvětlení proč náš král svržen jest z trůnu? (An Explanation of Why Our King Has Been Dethroned?, Banská Bystrica, 1849). Stage I We have already suggested that Štefan Launer was systematically engaged in the study of Hegel's philosophy while staying in the Halle university environment. Based on Launer's most famous work, Povaha Slovanstva (the Nature of Slavonry), one may conclude that the range of his philosophical sources of inspiration was wider. He explicitly referred to the line of philosophical views (Socrates, Aristotle, Schiller), which presented a detailed insight into spirituality outside of a cognitively recognizable world, thus the absolute spirit which is synonymous with God. In this sense, the finding of J. Marták is surprising, who in an effort to prove non-authenticity and speculative character of Launer's philosophical position concerning the issue of spirit and spirituality, attributes to him other inspirational resources (theological writings of Schelling, Schleirmacher, Marheineck, Bretscheider, and other theological philosophers, as well as the philosophical thought of Fichte and Schelling and a group of Hegel's successors, who denied that the spirit [God] is to be found outside the world cognitively recognizable by humans, thus being merely a product of man's imagination)5 that substantially left him unaffected in his theistic conception of perceiving the world. These had significance only in the 5 Cf. for details Marták, J.: Útok na spisovnú slovenčinu roku 1847/48 a jeho cieľ. Matica slovenská: Martin 1938, p. 107. Slovak Journal of Political Sciences, Volume 14, 2014, No. 2 123 sense that he began to think more freely in respect of certain religious dogmas, in a more liberal way, i.e. in a more open-minded way. In the issue of spirituality, his position was clearly theistic6, which was consistent with Štúr's opinion. They also agreed on the opinion on the essence of religion as ”revealed” religion. In this sense, Š. Launer programmatically did not want to deviate from Štúr in his views on the Christian doctrine, realizing the importance of this teaching for the spiritual and moral development of the Slovak ethnicity. In emphasizing the ”global historical” role of Christianity as the ”God of mankind”, he went as far in his attitude
Recommended publications
  • Lelov: Cultural Memory and a Jewish Town in Poland. Investigating the Identity and History of an Ultra - Orthodox Society

    Lelov: Cultural Memory and a Jewish Town in Poland. Investigating the Identity and History of an Ultra - Orthodox Society

    Lelov: cultural memory and a Jewish town in Poland. Investigating the identity and history of an ultra - orthodox society. Item Type Thesis Authors Morawska, Lucja Rights <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by- nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. Download date 03/10/2021 19:09:39 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10454/7827 University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars – The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team © University of Bradford. This work is licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. Lelov: cultural memory and a Jewish town in Poland. Investigating the identity and history of an ultra - orthodox society. Lucja MORAWSKA Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Social and International Studies University of Bradford 2012 i Lucja Morawska Lelov: cultural memory and a Jewish town in Poland. Investigating the identity and history of an ultra - orthodox society. Key words: Chasidism, Jewish History in Eastern Europe, Biederman family, Chasidic pilgrimage, Poland, Lelov Abstract. Lelov, an otherwise quiet village about fifty miles south of Cracow (Poland), is where Rebbe Dovid (David) Biederman founder of the Lelov ultra-orthodox (Chasidic) Jewish group, - is buried.
  • Chapter Seven Minority Recognition in Nation

    Chapter Seven Minority Recognition in Nation

    CHAPTER SEVEN MINORITY RECOGNITION IN NATION - STATES —THE CASE OF SILESIANS IN POLAND WOJCIECH JANICKI Introduction Ethnic issues have always been at the top of the agenda of many countries hosting significant numbers of minorities, as ethnic differences quite often cause tensions among these groups. Establishing responsible and farsighted policies to create favourable environments for the co- existence of these groups with respect to cultural differences has been an important element of good governance. Great Britain having implemented its multiculturalism and communautarisme policies may be referred to as an example (Parzymies 2005, Janicki 2007). However, in some countries other approaches have been applied. In these cases, minority groups have been kept under the control of the dominating ethnos 1, which curbs any activity leading to possible improvement of the political position of minorities, as in case of Myanmar’s attitude towards their ethnic Karen minority (Delang 2003). Poland, on the other hand, seems to have introduced yet another approach–denying recognition of some minority groups in order to avoid a “minority problem”. A state, as a political territorial organisation of a particular community, needs to derive its legitimisation from features that distinguish it from other states. The most apparent such feature is a separate nation (Wnuk- Lipi ński 2004). Consequently, nation-states are territorial entities providing exclusive geographical space for cultural, ethnic or political communities called nations. This implies that, in the world of nation- 1 Ethnos is understood further in the paper as a neutral notion addressing a group identified on the basis of ethnic features, withoutnot attempting to attribute a particular status (national, ethnic, ethnographic or any other) to the group.
  • Chapter I. the State System of Old Poland (Up to 1795)

    Chapter I. the State System of Old Poland (Up to 1795)

    Chapter I. The state system of Old Poland (up to 1795) § 1. Patrimonial monarchy I. The rise of the Polish state 1. The clan-tribe system and its collapse Pre-Polish tribes belonged among the Western Slavs. They arrived in the area located between the Oder and Bug rivers, on one hand, and the Carpathians and the Baltic Sea, on the other, during the Migration Period, most probably in the 6th century. The basic unit of Slav society was the clan. Initially, it included all those who originated from the same ancestor (agnatic), but with time a clan which consisted of relatives on both the father’s and the mother’s side (cognat- ic) became predominant. It served religious, military, economic, social, as well as protective purposes. Usually, the members of the clan inhabited a single set- tlement. The clan consisted of families. A number of clans would form a tribe, which was based on common ances- try as well, but also served state functions. The state-forming process started first within the so-calledsmall tribes inhabiting an area of up to 10,000 sq. km. These would combine to form a larger structure, i.e. the large tribe, which comprised a loose association of multiple small tribes. This process became more evident especially in the 8th century. Tribal associations formed in such a way occupied an area of up to 40,000 sq. km. The most important ones were: the Vistulans, the Polans, the Goplans, the Lendians, the Silesians, the Masovi- ans and the Pomeranians. Superior authority in a small tribal state was held by the veche (congress).
  • 1. Historical Setting

    1. Historical Setting

    Copyrighted Material 1. HISTORICAL SETTING 1.1. In search of roots. Human collectives have always strived to discover their origins. Held fast by linguistic, tribal, or religious bonds, societies are wont to test the strength of their union by examining its age and provenience. In this quest for a genealogy the Slavs find them- selves in a less fortunate position than many other members of the Indo-European family of languages. Speakers of Greek and the Romance languages have the satisfaction of being heir to the glorious traditions of ancient Greece and Rome. The Celtic and Germanic peoples know much about their past from what was written about them by classical authors and from their own tales and legends. The Slavs, by contrast, did not enter the records of history until the sixth century a.d. Their early fates are veiled by the silence of their neighbors, the mute- ness of their own oral tradition, and the ambiguity of such nonverbal sources of information as archaeology, anthropology, or paleobotany. Yet, the darkness of prehistory has not inhibited the Slavs in their search for roots. Schol- ars have fanned the few flickers of evidence hoping to illumine the past and reveal some heretofore hidden contours and shapes. How useful a search of this kind may be is best il- lustrated by the ingenious investigations of the Polish botanist Józef Rostafin¿ski. Having no- ticed that Slavic lacked a native term for beech (Fagus silvatica) and for several other plants, Rostafin¿ski assumed that there was a correlation between the easterly extension of the beech and the western limit of prehistoric Slavic settlements and concluded that the original home- land of the Slavs was located in the basin of the upper and middle Dnieper.1 Such insights, however, are few and far between.
  • “What Sort of Communists Are You?” the Struggle Between Nationalism and Ideology in Poland Between 1944 and 1956

    “What Sort of Communists Are You?” the Struggle Between Nationalism and Ideology in Poland Between 1944 and 1956

    Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses: Doctorates and Masters Theses 2017 “What sort of communists are you?” The struggle between nationalism and ideology in Poland between 1944 and 1956 Jan Ryszard Kozdra Edith Cowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses Part of the European History Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Kozdra, J. R. (2017). “What sort of communists are you?” The struggle between nationalism and ideology in Poland between 1944 and 1956. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1955 This Thesis is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/1955 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorize you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a copyright infringement. Where the reproduction of such material is done without attribution of authorship, with false attribution of authorship or the authorship is treated in a derogatory manner, this may be a breach of the author’s moral rights contained in Part IX of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Courts have the power to impose a wide range of civil and criminal sanctions for infringement of copyright, infringement of moral rights and other offences under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).
  • Online Conflict Discourse, Identity, and the Social Imagination of Silesian Minority in Poland by Krzysztof E

    Online Conflict Discourse, Identity, and the Social Imagination of Silesian Minority in Poland by Krzysztof E

    Online Conflict Discourse, Identity, and the Social Imagination of Silesian Minority in Poland By Krzysztof E. Borowski © 2020 Krzysztof E. Borowski M.A., University of Wrocław, 2011 B.A., University of Wrocław, 2009 Submitted to the graduate degree program in Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Co-Chair: Marc L. Greenberg Co-Chair: Renee Perelmutter Svetlana Vassileva-Karagyozova Arienne Dwyer Nathan Wood Date Defended: 29 April 2020 ii The dissertation committee for Krzysztof E. Borowski certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Online Conflict Discourse, Identity, and the Social Imagination of Silesian Minority in Poland Co-Chair: Marc L. Greenberg Co-Chair: Renee Perelmutter Date Approved: 29 April 2020 iii Abstract The second decade of the twenty-first century has been that of digital nationalism. In particular, the 2016 United States presidential elections and Brexit vote in the United Kingdom have shown that the increased use of social media has raised popular nationalism (Whitmeyer 2002) to a whole new level. While Europe and other parts of the world have visibly become more globalized, the Northern Atlantic region has witnessed a contradictory tendency for the rise and spread of nationalist sentiment. Much of this phenomenon has been taking place on the internet where conditions of apparent anonymity created a fertile ground for uninhibited identity expressions and performances. From the United States to Poland, people have retreated to their stable, national identities as a way of coping with the various facets of liquid modernity, in which the need for networking pushes individuals to engage in community building by bonding with other individuals through shared emotions (Bauman 2006, 37).
  • National Identity and Stereotypes of Poles and Germans Among Rural Youth in Opole Silesia

    National Identity and Stereotypes of Poles and Germans Among Rural Youth in Opole Silesia

    DOI: 10.15503/jecs20111-122-135 122 KATARZYNA MAZUR - National identity and stereotypes of Poles and Germans... National identity and stereotypes of Poles and Germans among rural youth in Opole Silesia Katarzyna Mazur [email protected] Abstract In Opole Silesia there live a combination of people describing themselves as Poles, Germans and Silesians. Young people there have to deal with that mix, being influenced by such forces as globalization. The purpose of this research was to discover how youth feel and understand their nationality and what stereotypes they share. The analysis consisted of several tasks. Students had to describe themselves by national and ethnic categories. They were asked how they felt about Germans and which stereotypes they found to be true or false. The paper includes analysis from earlier research on this topic. Keywords: nationality, stereotype, identity, Silesia, Poles, Germans, social distance. Introduction Opole Region is specific when we look at it through the prism of its inhabitants national identity. It still happens that people who speak Polish in the street, use German at home. Some of my peers from primary school used a term “You” in reference to Poles and now they say “They” about Germans, some – on the contrary – now claim German nationality although several years ago they claimed the opposite. It is quite common in the Opole Region to have dual citizenship. A lot of families have relatives on the other side of a border. When entering some municipalities there are bilingual signs. What decides people about being Pole or German…? Are Poles from the Opole Region the same as Poles from Greater Poland? What do Opole Region dwellers think about themselves and others? Terms “national identity” and “ethnic identity” Nation and following it national identity came to into being quite recently, only in the XIX century.
  • Between Germany, Poland and Szlonzokian Nationalism

    Between Germany, Poland and Szlonzokian Nationalism

    EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE, FLORENCE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION EUI Working Paper HEC No. 2003/1 The Szlonzoks and their Language: Between Germany, Poland and Szlonzokian Nationalism TOMASZ KAMUSELLA BADIA FIESOLANA, SAN DOMENICO (FI) All rights reserved. No part of this paper may be reproduced in any form without permission of the author(s). © 2003 Tomasz Kamusella Printed in Italy in December 2003 European University Institute Badia Fiesolana I – 50016 San Domenico (FI) Italy ________Tomasz Kamusella________ The Szlonzoks1 and Their Language: Between Germany, Poland and Szlonzokian Nationalism Tomasz Kamusella Jean Monnet Fellow, Department of History and Civilization, European University Institute, Florence, Italy & Opole University, Opole, Poland Please send any comments at my home address: Pikna 3/2 47-220 Kdzierzyn-Koïle Poland [email protected] 1 This word is spelt in accordance with the rules of the Polish orthography and, thus, should be pronounced as /shlohnzohks/. 1 ________Tomasz Kamusella________ Abstract This article analyzes the emergence of the Szlonzokian ethnic group or proto- nation in the context of the use of language as an instrument of nationalism in Central Europe. When language was legislated into the statistical measure of nationality in the second half of the nineteenth century, Berlin pressured the Slavophone Catholic peasant-cum-worker population of Upper Silesia to become ‘proper Germans’, this is, German-speaking and Protestant. To the German ennationalizing2 pressure the Polish equivalent was added after the division of Upper Silesia between Poland and Germany in 1922. The borders and ennationalizing policies changed in 1939 when the entire region was reincorporated into wartime Germany, and, again, in 1945 following the incorporation of Upper Silesia into postwar Poland.
  • THE SILESIAN IDENTITY OUTSIDE of POLAND 1. the Silesian Part Of

    THE SILESIAN IDENTITY OUTSIDE of POLAND 1. the Silesian Part Of

    TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE SILESIA REGION ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES No. 5 OPOLE 2003 Tadeusz SIWEK and Jaromir KAŃOK Ostrava University THE SILESIAN IDENTITY OUTSIDE OF POLAND 1. The Silesian part of the Czech territory Silesia is an important region of modern south-western Poland, but it does not belong to Poland entirely. It is a typically border region, which for centuries remained continuously under the Polish, Czech, Austrian and German supremacy. It was populated from the Middle Ages pre- dominantly by the Germans, though its ethnic structure was never ho- mogenous. The southernmost margin of this area belongs to Czechia (4,423 sq km = 1,708 sq mi, approximately 10% of the whole area), while the westernmost part of this territory belongs to Germany (only 2—3% of the whole area).1 The Czech Silesia is almost the same area as form er Austrian Silesia (1742-1918). The German bit of the land is the relict of former German Silesia (which existed at the same time as Austrian Sile­ sia). This paper deals with the Silesian identity in the Czech part of Sile­ sia. The identity is considered not in a political sense as national identi­ ty [Smith, 1993, 227], but also as regional identity [Vencalek, 1998, 207]. The Austrian Silesia consisted of two different parts. The former Opavia Duchy with fragments of counties of Krnov (Jagerndorf) and Nisa (Neisse) was situated in the west and it was populated predomi- nantly by the Germans till 1945, like the German Silesia at that time. The former Teschen Duchy was situated in the east and it was popula­ ted predominantly by the Poles [for morę details see Hannan, 1996], The Czech population increased significantly after incorporating a substan- xThe Silesian area means the area of former Austrian Silesia divided in 1742 between Austria and Germany (including a part of Lusatia incorporated in 1815) within the ad- ministrative borders valid at least till World War II.
  • Between Ethnicity and Nationality a Sociological Case Study of the Upper Silesians’ Group 1

    Between Ethnicity and Nationality a Sociological Case Study of the Upper Silesians’ Group 1

    PRZEGLĄD ZACHODNI 2014, No. II ANNA ŚLIZ MAREK S. SZCZEPAŃSKI Opole BETWEEN ETHNICITY AND NATIONALITY A SOCIOLOGICAL CASE STUDY OF THE UPPER SILESIANS’ GROUP 1 CULTURAL HOMOGENISATION VS. CULTURAL HETEROGENISATION The world in the early 21st century is both the world of national and ethnic cultures and global homogenisation of the cultural system. The process of cultural uniformisation is accompanied by the return to ethnic and national roots, i.e. eth- nos. That phenomenon has been metaphorically described by Benjamin Barber writing about McWorld and Jihad which are not against each other but feed one other.2 People who accept global elements of the system want to preserve the diver- sity which determines their individual and group identities. While taking advantage of the world civilisation achievements, they are faithful to their own language, tra- dition, and religion. They manifest their culture in order to gain a significant place within the societal structure in which they live. Such a situation is typical mainly of ethnic and national minorities which, while living in a dominant culture, want to keep their own one which is substantially different. At the same time, they strive to have a prominent place in the social structure not only in the cultural sense but also economically and politically. In this article we will raise the issue of Silesians, who inhabit the region of Upper Silesia, i.e. the Śląskie [Silesian] and Opolskie voivod- ships. Formally, the existence of that group was confirmed with the 2002 National Census data. Until today, however, Silesians have not been recognised as an ethnic or national minority in the meaning of the Act on National and Ethnic Minorities and Regional Language3.
  • 'Silesian Harm' Or 'The Great Silesia'?

    'Silesian Harm' Or 'The Great Silesia'?

    ROBERT SCHUMAN CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES Do Silesians Exist and can Silesia be Autonomous? Limits of Ethno-Political Tolerance in Poland Michał Buchowski Katarzyna Chlewińska Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań 2012/15 4. National Case Studies - Political Life Final Country Reports EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE, FLORENCE ROBERT SCHUMAN CENTRE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES Do Silesians Exist and Silesia be Autonomous? Limits of Ethno-Political Tolerance in Poland PROF. MICHAŁ BUCHOWSKI KATARZYNA CHLEWIŃSKA ADAM MICKIEWICZ UNIVERSITY Work Package 4 – National Case Studies of Challenges to Tolerance in Political Life D4.1 Final Country Reports on Concepts and Practices of Tolerance Addressing Cultural Diversity in Political Life © 2012 Michał Buchowski & Katarzyna Chlewińska This text may be downloaded only for personal research purposes. Additional reproduction for other purposes, whether in hard copies or electronically, requires the consent of the author(s), editor(s). If cited or quoted, reference should be made to the full name of the author(s), editor(s), the title, the research project, the year and the publisher. Published by the European University Institute Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies Via dei Roccettini 9 50014 San Domenico di Fiesole - Italy ACCEPT PLURALISM Research Project, Tolerance, Pluralism and Social Cohesion: Responding to the Challenges of the 21st Century in Europe European Commission, DG Research Seventh Framework Programme Social Sciences and Humanities grant agreement no. 243837 www.accept-pluralism.eu www.eui.eu/RSCAS/ Available from the EUI institutional repository CADMUS cadmus.eui.eu Tolerance, Pluralism and Social Cohesion: Responding to the Challenges of the 21st Century in Europe (ACCEPT PLURALISM) ACCEPT PLURALISM is a Research Project, funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Program.
  • Rusyns of the Carpathians : Competing Agendas of Identity

    Rusyns of the Carpathians : Competing Agendas of Identity

    RUSYNS OF THE CARPATHIANS: COMPETING AGENDAS OF IDENTITY A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Of Georgetown University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts In Russian and East European Studies By Alexandra C. Wiktorek, B.A. Washington, DC April 28, 2010 Copyright 2010 by Alexandra Wiktorek All Rights Reserved !! RUSYNS OF THE CARPATHIANS: COMPETING AGENDAS OF IDENTITY Alexandra Wiktorek, B.A. Thesis Adviser: Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This thesis examines the cultural revival and nation-building movement of the Rusyns, an East Slavic ethnic group whose homeland along the Carpathians straddles the border between the former Soviet Union and the European Union. While in the 19th century and again after World War I, Rusyns launched national movements, they never gained statehood as did other neighboring nations. Instead, Rusyns remain divided among several European states. During communist rule, they were officially classified as Ukrainians, their closest ethnic neighbors. After the Revolutions of 1989 and the subsequent demise of the Soviet Union, however, the Rusyns have emerged as a cohesive group recognized officially as a national minority in all the countries where they live except for Ukraine. The new Rusyn national movement brought about the revival of an identity once considered irretrievably outdated by reviving Rusyn language, engaging with the nations around them, and creating international organizations to unite all Rusyns. This question is explored here through the lens of liberal nationalism theory, especially as formulated by Yael Tamir, who argues that nations are defined culturally and that a stateless people may achieve self-determination when they live in a state whose institutions provide recognition and space for them to develop unhindered.